Dentists recommend that parents brush their children’s little teeth regularly from the moment they get their first tooth. From the age of around three years, most people slowly get to grips with cleaning themselves. As a rule, little ones start with manual toothbrushes, which is also what dentists like Dr. Thomas Breyer, Chairman of the Saxony State Dental Association. (You can read an interview with Dr. Breyer about brushing teeth with children here.)
But electric toothbrushes can also help children with dental care. Some manufacturers offer special models for children aged three or six. The stern editors Mareike Fangmann and Jan Sägert tested three devices with smart functions with their children (four and five years old).
Oral-B Junior Smart
Playbrush Smart Sonic
Philips Sonicare For Kids
scope of delivery
Weight (handpiece with brush head)
126 grams
114 grams
134 grams
Battery life (according to manufacturer)
more than 2 weeks
14 Roofs
14 Roofs
Colors
White
Blue, Pink
Turquoise (can be customized with stickers)
Age recommendation
from 6 years
from 3 years (special recommendation from 6 years)
from 3 years
Price
that. 45 euros
that. 30 euros
that. 40 euros
This toothbrush promises to make brushing your teeth fun for even the littlest ones – and it really does look like it: The Playbrush Smart Sonic is an electric sonic toothbrush for children aged three and over. However, it is only particularly recommended for children aged six and over. Stern editor Mareike Fangmann tested it with her four-and-a-half-year-old son.
What you notice at first glance is that the brush head is larger than other electric children’s toothbrushes. The overall design is very appealing: colorful, but still clear, so that my son immediately knew how to use the toothbrush: press the button and off you go. Charging works as usual via a charger onto which the Playbrush must be plugged. The first use is self-explanatory. The electric toothbrush for children is easy to hold thanks to the small nubs on the holder and its low weight, and my four-year-old can easily use it alone. Despite the comparatively larger brush head, it can reach all teeth. The brush head is soft and therefore not uncomfortable when cleaning.
If you want, you can unpack the sonic toothbrush, charge it and then start brushing with your child. But the special thing about the toothbrush is what its name suggests: the playful aspect. To be able to use this, you can’t avoid the Playbrush Kids app. It is compatible with iOS and Android. To do this, parents have to search for the Playbrush Kids app on their tablet or smartphone, download it (initially free) and connect the sonic toothbrush via Bluetooth. Basically no instructions are necessary. This step also worked without any problems and the app provides good instructions on how to connect the electric toothbrush for children to the app. You have access to four interactive tooth-brushing games as well as the tooth-brushing coach. An optional subscription upgrade to additional features is available in the app for an additional charge. With a bonus program you can secure practical extras with such a subscription and save costs when cleaning diligently.
My son is currently only offered one free game that suits his age: “Utoothia Paint”, in which a picture is only colored in if all of his teeth have been thoroughly brushed with the toothbrush. We had to load an extra app for this, which makes things a bit complicated because you have to switch back and forth between the apps. In addition, there were sometimes problems with our test and no matter how thoroughly my son cleaned under my supervision, the picture would not be completely colored. And: The game app sometimes doesn’t recognize whether the toothbrush is actually in contact with the teeth or whether he is simply turning the brush to have the picture colored. This doesn’t necessarily guarantee that he really cleans his teeth thoroughly – only when I’m there to check.
Apart from that, using this children’s toothbrush with app is easy and fun. Theoretically, you can track exactly where you are brushing (this works well with the tooth brushing coach) and where you still need practice. If necessary, you can download and try out new games (for a small fee) so that you don’t get bored. The Playbrush Smart Sonic is also equipped with two brushing modes (gentle and stronger), which can be controlled via the app and with which the care performance can be adapted to the needs of the children. A pressure sensor and evaluations of brushing performance (accuracy, time, regularity) via app also help to optimize daily oral hygiene.
The Playbrush Smart Sonic does what it promises: It makes brushing your teeth fun and ensured that my son brushed more thoroughly and for longer and that he enjoyed going to the bathroom in the morning and evening. Playing encouraged him to clean everything and not forget anything. It’s easy to use and the games are easy to understand. The fact that there are occasional problems with the game didn’t bother my son. And the information about the time course and the cleaning results are actually helpful.
However, my son couldn’t use the electric children’s toothbrush including the app on his own because he still needed a little help every now and then while playing. Therefore, the recommendation for ages six and up is understandable for us. The selection of free games for children his age is somewhat limited. We will definitely continue to use the Playbrush Smart Sonic – I’m sure my son will soon be able to use it all on his own and with even more game selection. And the fact that brushing your teeth is so easy actually makes everyday life easier.
Oral-B sent the Junior Smart model into the race. As with the devices for adults, the junior model uses a round oscillating brush head. It is recommended for children aged six and over. The tester was the 7-year-old son of stern editor Jan Sägert.
At first glance, the Junior Smart model only differs marginally from the Oral B toothbrushes for adults. It comes in plain white. The designers at least gave the front a little childlike touch with a funny tooth monster comic. Otherwise, the brush is just as big and heavy as the mom and dad version. The first cleaning didn’t pose too much of a challenge for my five-year-old son. Place the brush head with the colored ring on the handpiece and you’re done. The start button is also quick to find and off you go. The brush is quite loud during operation. This may seem familiar to users of brushes with an oscillating brush head. The first two minutes of cleaning flew by. A good sign.
Like the Playbrush, the Oral-B Junior Smart is equipped with a Bluetooth function. In order to be able to use the device to its full extent, downloading the (free) Oral-B-Fun-Zone app is mandatory. These are available equally for iOS and Android devices. It is installed quickly. Then it can go. When you press the start button, a timer counts down the preset brushing time by two minutes, provided the smartphone is within Bluetooth range of the brush. An acoustic signal every 30 seconds tells you to switch the brush up, down, right or left. The little cleaning devil can watch himself brushing his teeth via the smartphone camera. A little gag and motivational aid (or distraction from the essentials?): the app’s fun filters. Similar to Snapchat, children are given the messy hairstyle of a manga hero, a cute unicorn face or mirrored sunglasses. A short brushing sequence is automatically recorded by the app and can later be shared on social media. A function that, in my opinion, is superfluous, but is probably part of it these days.
In addition, 500 points are credited to a cleaning account for each successful session (125 points per cleaning section). When you reach certain limits, new theme worlds with additional fun filters are unlocked. The automatic pressure control monitors whether too much pressure is being exerted on the teeth. In this case, a red LED flashes and the display turns red with the message “too much pressure”. Basically, this is a helpful function. However, the device did not sound an alarm once during our test. My theory: Daycare and elementary school children are physically unable to exert so much pressure that could be dangerous to their teeth and gums.
Children and parents do not receive direct feedback from the app as to whether all parts of the mouth have been brushed correctly. The pictures are funny and at least motivated my son to brush his teeth for two minutes each morning and evening for two weeks without any major protests. This was by no means a given. However, the entertaining app does not free parents from having to check the success of brushing and brush again themselves. As a rule of thumb: only when children have mastered cursive writing are they able to reach all parts of their mouth with a toothbrush and clean them accordingly. After two minutes, the Oral-B Junior Smart switches itself off. The app provides a short summary. I had to read the motivating words to our five and a half year old son.
The Oral-B Junior Smart does what it’s supposed to: it brushes teeth. The small, round brush head, which is typical of oscillating brushes, rotates a little too loudly for my liking, but there is probably no other technical solution to this. My son had no problem reaching even the furthest corners of his mouth. It remains unclear whether he actually brushed every tooth and gap. Unfortunately, this feedback is missing. On the other hand, the Fun Zone app is a lot of fun and in our test meant that motivation did not fizzle out after just three days. Otherwise, the app is slim and easy for children to understand. Nevertheless, I think the recommended age of six is absolutely appropriate. In my opinion, it’s a bit of a shame that the Smart version comes in plain white, unlike the two models without Bluetooth (with a Star Wars motif for boys and Minnie Mouse for girls). I would have liked something more child-friendly here.
“Interactive fun for better teeth brushing” is written in English on the packaging of the Sonicare For Kids from Philips. Here too, a suitable app should make dental care palatable to children. From the age of three, children should clean their teeth with this sonic toothbrush. This is what it says on the packaging. stern editor Jan Sägert and his six-year-old son put the device with the monster to the test.
A fluffy monster with big googly eyes laughed at our junior as he unpacked the Philips Sonicare For Kids. It’s immediately clear: This sonic toothbrush was developed for children. Two brush heads fall out of the box next to the turquoise handpiece. One small and one significantly larger. Each comes with a protective cap. Also the charging station and two sticker sheets. The handheld device made of rubberized plastic appears a bit bulky and is comparatively heavy, but it makes a high-quality impression. It immediately collects the first plus point with our son. He quickly sticks one of the numerous stickers on the front. A nice idea from the designers. Otherwise, the two controls are immediately noticeable. The generously sized power button and another switch with a selection function. More on that later.
After the children’s toothbrush was decorated with colorful stickers, our junior’s first brushing session was twice as much fun. Especially when the monster on the packaging grinned at him on the smartphone app. This must be downloaded and installed as usual in the relevant store (Apple or Google). First of all, you have to choose between two brushing modes with the Philips Sonicare For Kids. Mode one: “normal” with a cleaning time of two minutes. Mode two: “gentle” with a brushing time of one minute. With a little skill, the cleaning times can be adjusted. To switch between modes, the bottom button on the front must be pressed. A green LED then jumps from left (gentle mode) to right to “normal” mode and vice versa. Which mode should be used for cleaning must be decided before the session starts. Our son tried both modes but didn’t notice any noticeable difference. Possibly also because he was distracted by the monster jumping around in his virtual bathroom. While brushing, the display shows the inside of a mouth. Plus a toothbrush that works from tooth to tooth and chases away other fluffy monsters. It remained unclear to me whether my son’s cleaning behavior was represented 1:1 here. After successful cleaning, a small present falls into the monster’s arms, which can be unwrapped with a tap of the finger. In addition to sweet treats, there are spray cans and fashionable accessories with which the tooth monster can be fed, sprayed or changed. A funny idea that was very well received by my son and led to him arguing with his little brother morning and evening about who would get to open the present.
The Philips Sonicare For Kids also does what is promised on the packaging and in the instructions. It shines with a colorful design that can be made even more colorful with stickers. The fact that it is a bit bulky could potentially be a problem for children with small hands. Thanks to the rubberized surface, the handpiece is generally very easy to grip. In my opinion, the buttons could be a bit more sensitive so that children can easily switch on the device or change the cleaning modes. The app is funny and entertaining. Our son also received small gifts for his cleaning friendship. Small weak point: The brush attachment sits extremely tightly on the handpiece and is impossible for a child to remove. The pinning itself also requires skill and strength that three- to six-year-olds don’t have.
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